UN Security Council demands full access to MH17 site

The UN Security Council vote unanimously to allow international access to the
site of flight MH17 which was downed over eastern Ukraine

9:00AM BST 22 Jul 2014

The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution Monday demanding international access to the site of the plane downed over eastern Ukraine and an end to military activities around the area, following intense pressure on a reluctant Russia to support the measure.

The resolution calls for a "full, thorough and independent international investigation" into the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 carrying 298 people in Hrabove. It calls for pro-Russia separatists to allow access to the site of the crash. And it demands that armed groups who control the crash site do not disturb debris, belongings or victims' remains.

All 15 council members voted in favour of the Australia-proposed measure, which was co-sponsored by nine other countries that lost citizens in the crash.

The foreign ministers of Australia and the Netherlands, along with the US ambassador and other diplomats, challenged Russia to use its influence with the rebels to comply with the resolution.

"I hope that Russia will now feel its responsibility, act on its responsibility. If it doesn't, it's going to have an increasingly isolated position in the international world," said Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans, who traveled to New York for the Security Council meeting.

The vote came after a weekend of negotiations to overcome Russian objections to the text, including a phone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot.